Farmville Safari – Baha’i Temple
Ahoy, adventurers! Today I delved a little deeper into one building from the limited edition Far East set released in Farmville in April 2010. One of the buildings had a few names — "Mediation Center", "Baha'i Temple", and "Lotus Building". It does look something like a lotus and a temple but it's certainly odd for those of us less familiar with the Baha'i faith!
It turns out that the Farmville version is fairly true to Baha'i tradition – being a nine sided, domed building. Why must Baha'i temples have nine sides? Nine is the highest digit and symbolizes comprehensiveness and culmination. Also, nine is the numerical value of Baha, the revealer of the Baha'i Faith, Baha'u'llah. Of course some creative license was taken by the Farmville Architects, making the dome look more like a blossom than a building, but getting the specifications of a nine sided domed building into our farms was fairly impressive!
For our Safari Adventure today, I'll be taking you to a Baha'i Temple a bit closer to (my) home than the Far East: Chicago Illinois, USA. The gardens and fountains were mighty impressive, and after learning a bit in their "Learning Center" I realized they were made such for mediation and reflection.
The variety of flowers in the garden is often compared to the variety of people in the world in Baha'i teachings. Harmony between different cultures and different nations and different religions is a mainstay of the teachings of the Baha'i. What could be a greater message for such a vast and varied group as the Farmville Nation, a group of people brought together without division of country nor language nor any other characteristic, for a simple love of pretend farming and community gaming?
Thanks for joining me on this particularly peaceful Safari, FVNationals!
Signing off,
Indiana Jenz!